Dobhi Village School (also known as Bodhgaya Project) Primary Steward: Padmavalli Dakoju

Project Description  Location: Dobhi Village, Bihar, India.  Area (urban/rural): Rural  Primary Focus: Primary education for children from low income families (dalits/tribals).  Project Type: Formal primary school.  Amount Requested (US$): Rs 131,400/ $2986 ($1=Rs44)  Purpose of Funding Request: Operational costs.  # of Beneficiaries:115 children, 3 teachers

Project Goals  Current Condition of Beneficiaries: All the children are from very low income families (daily wage laborers). This area has one of the lowest literacy rate in India.  Short-Term Objectives: Provide opportunity of education to the rural children.  5-Year Vision – Provide basic formal education to underprivileged children in rural Bihar.  Community Involvement – Helps in acquiring land, volunteers at the school, help set up a dairy farm, sewing center.

Project Background/Impact  Background, that is, how did the request reach us? – Existing project. We funded this last year.  Sources of Information: contact with Nick Hansen (project liaison) and Deepak Kumar (chairman of the trust).  Successes/Impact Thus Far: The number of students attending school has increased. Almost nil drop out rate. Mainly impacted Dalit community.  Challenges: No new challenges mentioned. Last year they mentioned about political unrest in Bihar. No direct impact so far.

Organization Description  Name of Organization: People First Educational Trust.  Background of Directors: Mr. Deepak Kumar, Chairman of the trust. Dr. B. K Verma, Mr. Nanda Kumar, secretary.  Other Activities of Organization: vocational training center, sewing center for women, 16 more schools in other parts of Bihar and Jharkhand.  Impact on Community/ Beneficiaries Reached So Far: Approximately 2000 children in 16 villages. Any red flags?  Religious or Political Affiliations: No  FCRA status: Yes

Existing Infrastructure/Facilities  Staff: 3 full time teachers  Infrastructure: Using a rented building.  Food/Medical Services: No

Curriculum/Pedagogy  Curriculum Currently Used/ Government Recognized?: Bihar government syllabus. Might move to central government’s syllabus.  Teaching Methodology: Formal  Teacher/Student Ratio: 3/115, ~1:38

Expected Outcomes/What After?  What happens to beneficiaries after this program? – Many beneficiaries have moved on to government run secondary schools. Out of which many have passed matriculation and few have gone to the University.  Measures of Success – Don’t have database of all the former students and their current state.  Evaluation Methods – N/A

Budget for Requested Funding  Total amount requested - $  Educational costs: per year (in dollars) Writing books Pen, Pencils, crayons Teaching material Recreational items & First aid supplies  Operational costs: Teacher Salary Rent Administration

Budget for Requested Funding  Other optional costs: Warm cloths and blankets – Hand pump for the school and villager –

Other Funding Sources  Previous/Other Funding Sources – Asha Stanford, Trust gets funding from various sources.  If funding has been discontinued from another source, reasons for the same  One-Time Costs/Continuing? Plans for self- sufficiency – Trust has some land where they grow cash crops. No other plan mentioned.

Project Big Picture  Education Components - $  Non-Education Components - $  Funding  NGO:  Project:  Our Component:

Site Visit Report  Site visit was done last year. No site visit done this year.

SWOT Analysis Strengths/Opportunities  Providing education and opportunity to communities which otherwise don’t have one.  One of our first project in Bihar/Jharkhand region. Weaknesses/Risks  Input/Output type of project  Can not become self sufficient in near future.

Steward Recommendation  School has been run without any issues in the last year.  More students have enrolled this year.  Trust seems to be doing a good job with the money.

Project Discussion/Decision

Discussion (10 minutes)  Questions/Thoughts  Arguments for funding  Arguments against funding

Decision (5 minutes)  Round I: Need more information/Can decide today?  If ready to decide:  Round II: Fund/Do not fund  If decided to fund:  Round III: Fund full amount/Fund part amount Notes: 1.Please vote only if you are familiar with the project details and our overall funding philosophy 2.Decision to be made by 2/3 rd majority. Quorum of 5. 3.All projects must be resolved by the 2 nd meeting